Surface Plasmon Interferometer Based on Wedge Metal Waveguide and Its Sensing Applications

We propose a surface plasmon interferometer based on a wedge metal waveguide. Working principles of the device are introduced through theoretical analyses. The interference performances are investigated by finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. Because of the special wedge geometry, the interf...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE photonics journal 2012-02, Vol.4 (1), p.291-299
Main Authors: Yang Ming, Zi-jian Wu, Hao Wu, Fei Xu, Yan-qing Lu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Couplings
Gold
Interference
plasmonics
Plasmons
Propagation constant
Refractive index
Sensors
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Summary:We propose a surface plasmon interferometer based on a wedge metal waveguide. Working principles of the device are introduced through theoretical analyses. The interference performances are investigated by finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. Because of the special wedge geometry, the interferometer shows an extremely low coupling loss in comparison with the previous reports. An interesting surface plasmon polariton (SPP) coupling and splitting phenomenon is found at the wedge section. It is then split into two surface plasmon modes in two interference arms. Refractive index sensing applications of this interferometer are also discussed, which shows sensitivity as high as 6 × 10 3 nm/RIU.
ISSN:1943-0655
1943-0647
DOI:10.1109/JPHOT.2012.2186562